The Sconi

Nearly two months have passed since President Joe Biden authorized the emergency release of oil from the nation's reserves and the average price of gas in Wisconsin and across the nation continues to climb ever higher. 

The latest American Automobile Association (AAA) press release reports the national gas average to be $4.60 – a figure that has either remained flat or risen every day since April 24 and has set a new record daily since May 10. All 50 states' gasoline averages are currently above $4 per gallon for the first time in U.S. history.

In Wisconsin, the average price of $4.33 per gallon is an increase of 4 cents from last week and 48 cents within the last 30 days, according to AAA.

On March 31, Biden announced the release of up to 180 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next 6 months, in his effort to curb high gas prices. The president said there would be a slight delay in declining gas prices by days and weeks, but the prices would drop by an unknown range. He further claimed, "it could come down fairly significantly. It could come down [to] a better part of anything from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon, it’s unknown at this point.”

As of May 24, the national gas price average of $4.60 per gallon is an 11.7% climb from a month ago when the average was $4.12 per gallon, according to AAA. On March 31, the day of the SPR release, gas was $4.22 per gallon, 38 cents cheaper than it is today.

According to CNN, Biden announced his plans to replenish the SPR supply, starting with the purchase of 60 million barrels of crude oil. However, this will only cover one-third of the supply from the president's record release and replenishment will take years, according to the Energy Department. Biden has yet to announce any plans of increasing domestic oil production.

AAA reports that according to new Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 4.8 million bbl to 220.2 million bbl last week. Meanwhile, gasoline demand increased from 8.7 million b/d to 9 million b/d during the same time frame. Tighter supply and increased demand have pushed pump prices higher. This supply/demand dynamic and volatile crude prices will keep upward pressure on pump prices, AAA says.